


I'll give you the moon (my heart)

by UpInOrbit



Series: 50 word prompts [3]
Category: The Boyz (Korea Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Magic, Strangers to Lovers, a little at least, express fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:34:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27045073
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UpInOrbit/pseuds/UpInOrbit
Summary: “I’ll give you the Moon, then,” he promises.He sees it, the way Changmin’s smile drops from his face just ever so slightly, the way his eyes cloud with something bitter, and he knows, he knows he’s not the first one to make such a promise, and that Changmin has no expectations, no hopes of seeing that promise ever come to life.Sunwoo swears that he will keep his word.Or the one where Sunwoo makes a promise, and nothing will stop him from fulfilling it.
Relationships: Ji Changmin | Q/Kim Sunwoo
Series: 50 word prompts [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1920427
Comments: 6
Kudos: 58





	I'll give you the moon (my heart)

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work for this fandom and I have to say I'm really nervous, I wasn't even expecting to write it until yesterday, but I really hope you guys will like it!!  
> Thank you Marta for the pairing (and for dragging me alongside you to this fandom jsjsjs), it was a pleasure writing for them <3 This fic was written for the word prompt "autumn"

The first time Sunwoo sees Changmin, it is an autumn night.

He’s sitting in Sunwoo’s yard, head turned towards the sky, exhaustion clear in his face even under the dim light. He jumps when he hears Sunwoo approach, stares reluctantly at the water bottle he’s offering.

“It’s safe to drink,” Sunwoo says, taking a gulp from it before offering it again. The other takes the bottle, his gratitude obvious.

Sunwoo knows he should be scared, of the stranger that sneaked into his back yard, but there’s something about him, some instinct that has been there for all his life, that makes him feel at ease.

“I’m Sunwoo,” he offers. “You’re welcome here, if you need it.”

“Changmin,” is the quiet reply. “Thank you.”

A tentative friendship begins to bloom there, stars their only witness.

***

It is late winter, almost spring, when Sunwoo first learns why Changmin only appears at night.

Seeing him transform from a small squirrel, into the friend he has come to expect during the nights, is a strange thing, but at the same time, it explains others he has never quite had an answer for, small details that have always puzzled him.

Changmin looks at him, fear clearly painted in his face, but Sunwoo merely scoots over, leaving space for Changmin to sit by his side.

“You’re late,” he simply says, pretends not to notice the way Changmin’s shoulders sag in relief.

“I know, I’m sorry,” he replies. “I hope you weren’t here for long.”

They sit close, closer than usual, knees bumping together. It makes Sunwoo warm inside, happiness difficult to hide, and so he doesn’t.

***

“Have you ever heard the expression ‘I’ll give you the moon’?” Changmin asks, quietly, almost a year after they first met. He’s not looking at Sunwoo, fingers playing with the grass blades underneath him. Sunwoo hums in reply, patiently waits for an answer. “They say behind every story, there’s a little bit of truth. There’s not a story here, but it’s the same idea. We were cursed, once. To only walk the Earth when the moon is out, to be forced into an animal force during the day, and the only way to break it…”

“It’s to have someone give you the moon?” Sunwoo guesses. Changmin nods.

“It’s an impossible task, you see, so we’ve been cursed ever since. My family has tried over the years to break it, but to no avail. There’s only one way out, and it’s out of reach. But it doesn’t really matter,” Changmin says, smiling softly at Sunwoo when he notices his concern. “I don’t mind it as much as you could think I do. It’s the only thing I’ve ever known, after all.”

“But would you like to break it?” Sunwoo asks, words quiet.

Changmin stays silent for a while, so long Sunwoo thought we wouldn’t reply.

“Yeah, I would,” he finally whispered, when Sunwoo wasn’t expecting him to. “I want to see what’s out there,” his smile turns tender, softer still.

It tugs at Sunwoo’s heartstrings, until we can barely breathe.

“I’ll give you the Moon, then,” he promises.

He sees it, the way Changmin’s smile drops from his face just ever so slightly, the way his eyes cloud with something bitter, and he knows, he knows he’s not the first one to make such a promise, and that Changmin has no expectations, no hopes of seeing that promise ever come to life.

Changmin says nothing, just gives him a smile that a bit smaller, a bit duller than usual, and Sunwoo swears silently that, no matter how many empty promises Changmin has lived through, that list will never grow again, for he will keep his word.

The clock ticks, minutes slipping away, every passing second bringing the first rays of dawn closer, and Changmin speaks, filling the silence between them with all the words he can think of. 

Above them, the moon shines, round and bright, while Sunwoo forges plans to steal it from the sky, wrap it in silk just for Changmin.

***

He thinks, he plans, he despairs. Plan upon plan crumble under his fingertips, sandcastles perishing under the unrelenting sea, washed away until all that remains is their memory, tucked away into a small corner of Sunwoo’s mind.

And with every failed attempt, every discarded plan, the small corner grows and grows, until so does Sunwoo’s despair, unable to beat the sheer distance that stands between him and the Moon, between him and the completion of a promise that has become a part of himself.

Sunwoo refuses to fail, refuses to join the ever-growing list of broken promises that haunt Changmin, but he doesn’t know how.

His dreams get filled with the moon dancing tauntingly above his head, so close he can almost touch it, but as soon as his fingers threaten to brush upon it, the moon disappears, replaced by darkness and the bitter taste of disappointment.

Days stretch into weeks that turn into months and soon the winter is gone, spring blooming in the flowers he keeps in his windowsill, petals shyly chasing after the Sun.

Sunwoo doesn’t like the late spring and summer as much as he did before, for they bring the Sun with them, and with the Sun comes longer days and shorter nights, less of a chance to spend time with Changmin, more of it to mull over a problem with seemingly no solution.

Changmin is excited, though, his smiles bright and laugh contagious, and Sunwoo finds that he can’t be mad at the Sun for stealing Changmin away from Sunwoo when the milder temperatures make him so happy.

“Let’s go for a swim,” Changmin whispers to him one day, his grin blinding, and Sunwoo nods wordlessly, transfixed with a smile that makes his heart ache and stop in his chest, then rattle against his ribcage twice as fast. 

(He puts a hand on his chest, just to make sure his heart won’t break through, leave him behind. Changmin stares at him, confused, when he realizes Sunwoo is not following, and waits until he jogs up to him, smile tender and palms soft as he tugs him along the way).

The river is calm, not even a ripple disturbing its surface, painted in hues of black and silver. They’re the only ones there, and Sunwoo fears someone will come throw them out when Changmin sinks him under the water, and he lets out a surprised yelp. Retaliation follows shortly after, peace broken as they splash around, shouting cut short when a head is dunked underwater.

No one comes to chase them out, though, and it’s Sunwoo who leaves first, breathless, wet hair sticking to his forehead and dripping down his chin, but feeling happiness bubbling under his skin. He throws himself on the ground, wishing he’d thought to bring a towel, and waits for Changmin to finally leave the river.

He finally does so, a grin splitting his face in two, the power of it directed entirely at Sunwoo, who feels the breath being stolen from his lungs.

Changmin walks up to him, arms stretched towards the sky, fingers intertwined over his head, and Sunwoo looks, stares at the long expanses of smooth, unblemished skin, and feels his brain going into overdrive, the image triggering an avalanche of ideas that is almost staggering.

Sunwoo doesn’t even realize he’s still staring until Changmin stops in front of him and hums questioningly, tilting his head to the side as he inspects Sunwoo’s face, a hint of amusement shining in his eyes. The sound breaks Sunwoo free from his reverie, buries him under a wave of self-consciousness instead. 

Blood rushes to his face, up his cheeks and down his neck, his ears tinting pink, and he can’t find his words when he first opens his mouth.

“I-I was thinking,” he stammers through the words, the sentence sounding more like a question than a statement.

Changmin lets out a lovely laugh, eyes crinkling in fondness as he sits himself by Sunwoo’s side.

“Sure you were,” he singsongs, resting his head on Sunwoo’s shoulder. The teasing in his voice is obvious, and Sunwoo is sure his face is hot to touch now, the blush evident even in the middle of the night, but he forces himself to breathe, enjoy the weight of Changmin on his shoulder, the tickling of his breath on his neck.

His brain is burning up with ideas, but they can wait one more night.

***

They fail, at first. Sunwoo knows what to do, but not how, and it shows.

His hands are covered in band-aids, and half-healed wounds. There are nicks and cuts covering his fingers, and callouses forming on his palms, a testament to all his failed attempts, but Sunwoo refuses to give up. It’s so close, he can almost touch it, but it is like navigating an unfamiliar place in the dark, and his body bears the scars that speak of it.

Changmin looks worriedly at his hands when he catches Sunwoo grimacing, after putting too much weight on a fresh wound on his palm, but Sunwoo shoots him a reassuring smile.

“It doesn’t really hurt, don’t worry. It just stings a little.”

“What even are you doing?” Changmin replies, lips curving into a smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes, though, and Sunwoo knows Changmin is still worried, his own hands hurting in sympathy.

“It’s a secret,” Sunwoo knows his answer won’t please Changmin and, sure enough, the other’s face clouds with a frown, but Sunwoo leans forward, carefully lacing their fingers together. “When it’s ready, you’ll be the first to know, I promise. But I can’t show it to you until it’s absolutely perfect.”

“As long as you promise you’re taking care…,” Changmin still seems reluctant to accept Sunwoo’s word, but the worry in his expression eases a little, and Sunwoo merely beams at him, a smile almost as bright as Changmin’s.

“Of course,” Sunwoo replies, tightening his grip on Changmin’s fingers.

***

They fail, at first. They continue to fail, later.

He knows what to do, how to do it, but the result continues to be subpar. Sunwoo knows he hasn’t quite put that amount of effort in anything ever before, really, but he doesn’t mind.

He runs over the process a thousand and one times, and then some, until he can almost do it in his sleep. Still, no matter how many times he does it, he never quite finds himself satisfied with the result.

The moon looks at him from his window, almost mocking, and that fuels him forward. He can feel it in his bones, that it’s the way to go, that he’s on the right track, but he won’t present Changmin anything that’s less than perfect, and so far, nothing has quite reached his standard.

Summer comes and goes, and it’s not until the fall comes, almost two years after they both met, that Sunwoo finally sits back in his chair, feeling something akin to satisfaction simmering in his veins. 

When Changmin changes, Sunwoo is already there, waiting for him.

The last of the daylights disappears under the edge of the horizon, stars twinkling above them, and the animal skin melts away in favour of the human, who stops in his tracks when he finds Sunwoo rushing to him, hands hidden behind his back, almost thrumming with excitement.

“Is something the matter, Sunwoo?” Changmin tilts his head to the side, a small smile on his lips, and Sunwoo can no longer resist.

Gingerly, he brings his arms forward, revealing the small box he’s clutching between his fingers.

Changmin follows the movement, confusion obvious in his eyes, but he waits patiently for Sunwoo to speak.

Sunwoo opens the box, starlight brushing against the small object inside, making it shine in the darkness. It’s small, a sphere no bigger than Sunwoo’s nail, it’s silver surface marred with bumps and ridges. A chain made of small silver links, mercury under the moon, is connected to it, transforming it into a necklace.

“It’s so beautiful, Sunwoo. Is this what you were making?” Changmin asks, breathless.

Sunwoo grins, bright and open.

“I made the moon,” he replies, then watches, expectant, as the wonder in Changmin’s face slowly dissolves into understanding, tentative hope flickering in his dark eyes. “And now I’m giving it to you, so that you can take it wherever you want. I should have waited until later, in case it doesn’t work but—”

“You’re giving me the moon,” Changmin cuts him, still awestruck, and Sunwoo can do nothing but nod in reply.

“I’m giving you the moon. I promised I would, didn’t I?”

“Sunwoo, I—”

“I can’t promise it’ll work, but I have a good feeling about this one,” it’s Sunwoo’s turn to interrupt, his eyes turned to the ground, nervously twisting his fingers.

Before he can say anything else, Changmin’s hands are on his cheeks, warm fingers carefully splayed on his face, forcing Sunwoo to look at him.

“Thank you,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. He leans forward, brushes his lips against Sunwoo’s cheek. “Even if it doesn’t work, thank you.”

His throat closed, Sunwoo can do nothing but nod, lacing his fingers with Changmin’s, and pressing a kiss to his palm.

“Come here,” he beckons, picking up the necklace with care.

He closes the clasp behind Changmin’s neck, turns around to see the miniature moon fall between his collarbones, at home. They both smile.

Waiting for the Sun to come is almost unbearable, silence stretching between them for hours, until the first hint of dawn breaks over the horizon, sunlight spilling across it, coming closer to them.

Sunwoo is sure none of them breathes at first, as Changmin steps into the light.

Changmin’s eyes are brimming with tears, when he turns towards Sunwoo, the early daylights framing him like a halo. Sunwoo barely has time to bask in the image, for Changmin clashes against him, almost throwing them both to the ground, Changmin’s arms around Sunwoo, his face, wet with tears, hidden in the crook of his neck.

“You know that I love you, even if you hadn’t done this, right?” Changmin whispers, words almost lost in between the sobs that leave his lips.

Sunwoo merely nods, biting his bottom lip.

“I know. But I wanted to do it, I wanted to fulfil my promise. And you can go anywhere,” he continues, bringing Changmin closer when he feels the other stiffen, shock obvious in the lines of his body. “This is a gift, so that you can walk under the sun, and go anywhere you want.”

“And if I want to stay here? And if I to see it all, with you?” Changmin murmurs, and Sunwoo lets out a shaky laugh.

“Then we’ll go, wherever you want,” he promises, feeling happiness rush through his veins. 

Above them, the night is washed away, slowly but surely replaced by the aurora, hues of pink and orange welcoming as the Sun bathes them in their light.

**Author's Note:**

> It was a fairly short fic, but I hope it was enjoyable, and hopefully I'll come back soon(ish) with new works ^^  
> Let me know what you thought about it!! (or if you have any questions)  
> Comments and kudos warm my heart <33
> 
> [tw](https://twitter.com/starryjinsouls) || [cc](https://curiouscat.me/Val_99)
> 
> \- Val


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